Fructose Got a Bad Rap; Waterworld: A New Type of Planet

Discovered: Fructose doesn't deserve its association with obesity, a new type of Super Earth, a case for extending the smoking ban, and movies make kids want to drink.

Discovered: Fructose doesn't deserve its association with obesity, a new type of Super Earth, a case for extending the smoking ban, and movies make kids want to drink. 

• Fructose does not deserve its association with obesity. This does not mean all those propaganda ads telling us that high fructose corn syrup is "simply a kind of corn sugar" and "natural" were justified. This is just regular fructose, otherwise known as the sugar found in fruits, vegetables, and sugar. A review of over 40 studies found no weight gain associated with ingesting the tasty molecule. "Fructose may not be to blame for obesity," said Dr. John Sievenpiper. "It may just be calories from any food source. Overconsumption is the issue." Translation: fructose for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And brunch, linner, and supper, too. [St. Michaels]
• A new type of planet. Astronomers have confirmed that a planet discovered in 2009 is a whole different class of orb, different from the Earth but not exactly a gassy ball like Jupiter. They call it Super Earth, because it's a bigger, badder, better, waterier version of our good-for-nothing planet. "GJ 1214b is like no planet we know of," said lead author Zachory Berta. Unlike Earth, it has cool sounding substances on it like "hot ice" and "super fluid water" -- things that do not compute in our Earthling brains. [BBC]
• The case for extending the smoking ban. Uh oh, smokers, science now wants to relegate the unhealthy habit to even further from the bar. "Social smokers," that euphemism used for people who smoke while waste-face, would benefit from removing the option from right outside of bars, finds new research. "Introducing smoke-free outdoors bars could reduce social smoking by removing cues that stimulate this behaviour and changing the environment that facilitates it," said the study's authors. For social smokers, the addicted will suffer. [Tobacco Control] 
• Movies with alcohol in them make kids want to drink. Apparently the sight of a bunch of people partying it up with intoxicants plants some real seeds in the brains of the underaged. "Teens who watched the most movies featuring alcohol were twice as likely to start drinking as those who watched the least. And they were 63% more likely to progress to binge drinking," finds research. Bad kids. But what does this mean for adults who already drink, and who quite possibly enjoy watching movies? We are concerned. [BMJ Open]

Image via Shutterstock by Gorgev.